(Buy it HERE) ⭐⭐⭐/5Courtney loves his best friend Jupiter. Jupiter loves girls. New girl Rae isn’t sure who she loves or how she feels about it. Odd One Out explores their individual perspectives & the questions they have about their emerging sexualities & relationships.⠀🏳️🌈⠀I love how casually diverse this book is. Race, culture and sexualityContinue reading “[REVIEW] Odd One Out, Nic Stone”
Tag Archives: Books by Americans
[REVIEW] Tampa, Alissa Nutting
Tampa is possibly the most repulsive, disturbing, and un-enjoyable book I have EVER read. It’s also literarily and socially important, but because of its subject matter I wouldn’t recommend reading this. Tampa is a pathological little story told by Celeste, a self-described “pretty blonde” middle school English teacher who seduces her favorite students into sexuallyContinue reading “[REVIEW] Tampa, Alissa Nutting”
[REVIEW] Opposite of Always, Justin A Reynolds
(Buy it HERE.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5) I was expecting this book to be something totally different than what it was. The synopsis led me to believe it was a sci-fi time travel tale focused on fixing sad past mistakes, much like last year’s tear-jerking Netflix original See You Yesterday. And it is all of that, but unlikeContinue reading “[REVIEW] Opposite of Always, Justin A Reynolds”
[REVIEW] When My Brother Was An Aztec, Natalie Diaz
“When My Brother Was An Aztec/he lived in our basement and sacrificed my parents/every morning. It was awful.” Natalie Diaz’s When My Brother Was An Aztec is a legit masterpiece. Go read it, now. Books of poetry are sometimes navel-gazing, self-absorbed bores but this one is simply amazing. I slurped it down in two shortContinue reading “[REVIEW] When My Brother Was An Aztec, Natalie Diaz”
[REVIEW] Invisible Life, E. Lynn Harris
(Buy it HERE.) Raymond Tyler Jr. is Black, middle-class, and upwardly mobile. He has a job at a hot law firm in NYC, a loving Southern family, a supportive friend group and a really nice apartment. He’s a catch on the dating market, and everyone wants to know when he’ll get married. He’s also inContinue reading “[REVIEW] Invisible Life, E. Lynn Harris”
[REVIEW] Let’s Talk About Love, by Claire Kann
(Buy it HERE.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⠀💕⠀Ok so first of all, isn’t that a *gorgeous* book cover? Second – good grief. When was the last time I actually read an ink and paper book? The Kindle is getting a workout lately! ⠀💑⠀It’s rare that a book completely surprises me, but this one did. After all, who expects anContinue reading “[REVIEW] Let’s Talk About Love, by Claire Kann”
[REVIEW] Felon, by Reginald Dwayne Betts
Buy it HERE. 🚔⠀I am a father driving/his Black sons to school & the death/of a Black boy rides shotgun &this/could be a funeral procession⠀~from “When I Think of Tamir Rice While Driving”⠀✊🏿⠀When it’s difficult for me to focus, I tend to read poetry. This short collection surprisingly filled an empathetic void in me IContinue reading “[REVIEW] Felon, by Reginald Dwayne Betts”
[REVIEW]No One Can Pronounce My Name, Rakesh Satyal
(Buy it HERE.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⠀ This book is easily my second favorite read of the year so far after Girl, Woman, Other. It’s funny, touching, warm-hearted, and surprisingly deep. It’s also ferociously well-written. (One chapter made me close the book, say WOW, & sit for a while with the words.) I can’t believe I’ve never heardContinue reading “[REVIEW]No One Can Pronounce My Name, Rakesh Satyal”
[REVIEW] On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong
(Buy it HERE.) “Who will be lost in the story we tell ourselves? Who will be lost in ourselves?” This is a messy book. There’s a lot going on between its covers–PTSD, emerging sexuality, poverty, war, immigration, mental illness, class, race, abuse, art, gender performance. There’s a lot going on, but it all seems toContinue reading “[REVIEW] On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong”
[HEAR ME OUT] It’s Aight: A long thought about what Legacy of Orisha means for Black spec-fic readers and writers…
Back in 2019, long before COVID-19 roamed the earth and drove us all inside brandishing cans of Lysol, the bookish internet was abuzz with news of Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Virtue and Vengeance. I couldn’t check social media without seeing 50-11 posts anticipating the book and after putting a poll up on the Equal OpportunityContinue reading “[HEAR ME OUT] It’s Aight: A long thought about what Legacy of Orisha means for Black spec-fic readers and writers…”
Equal Opportunity Reader 